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Daniel (Elton John song)
| format = Vinyl record (7") | recorded = June 1972, Château d'Hérouville, France | studio = | venue = | genre = Soft rock | length = 3:54 | label = MCA (US) DJM (UK) | writer = Elton John, Bernie Taupin | producer = Gus Dudgeon | prev_title = Crocodile Rock | prev_year = 1972 | next_title = Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding | next_year = 1973 }} "Daniel" is a song and ballad by Elton John. It appeared on the 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player. It was written by John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. In the United Kingdom, the song reached no. 4 in the official chart. In the US the song reached No. 2 on the pop charts (only held from number one by "My Love" by Paul McCartney & Wings) and No. 1 on the adult contemporary charts |title=allmusic - Elton John - Billboard singles |accessdate=28 January 2009}} for two weeks in the spring of 1973. In the United States, it was certified Gold in September 1995 and Platinum in May 2018 by the RIAA. In Canada, it became his second No. 1 single, following "Crocodile Rock" earlier in the year, holding the position for two weeks in the RPM 100 ''national singles chart. Writers John and Taupin received the 1973 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.Lister, David, ''Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent (London), 28 May 1994 Donatella Versace named her son after this song. Composition Bernie Taupin wrote "Daniel" after reading an article in either Time or Newsweek about a Vietnam War veteran who had been wounded, and wanted to get away from the attention he was receiving when he went back home. The last verse in the original draft was cut from the final version, which has led to some speculation on the contents. "'Daniel' had been the most misinterpreted song that we'd ever written," explained Taupin, in the Two Rooms tribute project. "The story was about a guy that went back to a small town in Texas, returning from the Vietnam War. They'd lauded him when he came home and treated him like a hero. But, he just wanted to go home, go back to the farm, and try to get back to the life that he'd led before. I wanted to write something that was sympathetic to the people that came home." Personnel * Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, "flute" Mellotron, vocals * Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, banjo * Dee Murray – bass * Nigel Olsson – drums, maracas * Ken Scott – ARP synthesizer Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts Accolades ;Grammy Awards |- | style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1974 || rowspan="2"| "Daniel" || Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male || |- Notable covers "Daniel" was covered on the 1991 album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin by Wilson Phillips. It reached number seven on the US Adult Contemporary chart as an album cut. |title=allmusic - Wilson Phillips - Billboard singles |accessdate=28 January 2009}} Sam Smith covered the song for the 2018 tribute album Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. The band Fuel covered "Daniel" on the bonus version of their album Something Like Human.Something Like Human Use as film music "Daniel" can be heard in the film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore by Martin Scorsese. See also *List of RPM number-one singles of 1973 (Canada) *List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1973 (U.S.) References External links * Category:1973 singles Category:1970s ballads Category:Elton John songs Category:Wilson Phillips songs Category:Songs with music by Elton John Category:Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Category:Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles Category:Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Category:Songs of the Vietnam War Category:Rock ballads Category:DJM Records singles Category:MCA Records singles